Rafael Segundo Sotomayor Gaete (November 16, 1848 – February 16, 1918) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an politician and several times minister. He was born in

Cauquenes Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region. History According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community o ...

, the son of

Rafael Sotomayor Baeza Rafael Sotomayor Baeza (13 September 1823 – 20 May 1880) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. As Minister of War and Navy he was the main organiser of Chilean forces during the War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, lin ...

and of Pabla del Carmen Gaete Ruiz. He studied at the Instituto Nacional and later graduated as a lawyer from the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

on January 7, 1871. During the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, he accompanied his father, who was the Minister of War, as personal secretary and auditor, and after his death, in 1880, he became CO of the Customs House Guard in

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

and later Intendant of

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...

. On May 4, 1895, he married Inés Neuhaus Ugarteche, and together they had 6 children. He joined the Radical Party, and in 1898 President

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren Federico Errázuriz Echaurren (Santiago, November 16, 1850 – Valparaíso, July 12, 1901) was a Chilean politician who served as the 12th President of Chile. Early life He was son of the president Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and of Eulogia ...

appointed him

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

(1898–1899) first and

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

later (1899). President German Riesco appointed him Minister of the Interior (1903) and then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cult and Colonization (1903–1904). In 1906 Sotomayor was elected Senator for "Aconcagua" (1906–1912). President Pedro Montt appointed him Minister of Finance (1906–1907) and then Minister of the Interior (1907–1908). As such he is held responsible of giving the shoot-to-kill order to General Roberto Silva Renard that caused the

Santa María School massacre The Santa María School massacre was a massacre of striking workers, mostly saltpeter works (nitrate) miners, along with wives and children, committed by the Chilean Army in Iquique, Chile on December 21, 1907. The number of victims is unde ...

in 1907, where the estimates range between 1,100 and 3,500 men, women and children killed. His reputation never recovered. Sotomayor died of

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

very early on in the pandemic. He had been on board the ship ''Infanta Isabel'', in front of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

, at the age of 69, on the return trip from Europe, after having been Chilean Ambassador to France.

External links

Genealogical chart

Genealogical chart of Sotomayor family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotomayor Gaete, Rafael 1848 births 1918 deaths People from Cauquenes Chilean people of Galician descent Radical Party of Chile politicians Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Chilean Ministers of Finance Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Ambassadors of Chile to France Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni University of Chile alumni Deaths from Spanish flu